The Burness Effect Blog

Arctic Seed Vault Receives Seeds from Syria, Trendy Amaranth and Barley, Plus High Altitude Wheat

The Global Crop Diversity Trust, a Burness client, maintains the seed vault in partnership with the Norwegian government and the Nordic Genetic Resources Center, as a back-up to the living crop diversity collections housed in “genebanks” around the world. “The incredible range and importance of the seeds that have been sent here this week for safekeeping provide vivid examples of why we need to carefully collect and preserve our planet’s crop diversity,” said Cary Fowler, executive director of the Global Crop Diversity Trust.

Food and Farming at the Heart of Climate Discussion

Last week, a group of 14 international agriculture experts from around the world wrote an opinion piece in Science magazine urging the scientific community to address the importance of agriculture in the climate change debate.

Safe Farming: No More Praying for Rain

Traditional crop insurance relies on farm visits, a proposition which doesn’t add up for small farmers. Kilimo Salama uses creative, low-cost methods, such as weather stations and mobile money transfers, to remotely determine whether weather conditions justify a payout for farmers.

Insurance Payouts Help Herders Rebuild After Massive Livestock Losses

Around 650 herders in Northern Kenya signed up for insurance policies to protect them and their livestock investments from drought losses. At a time when global attention for the worst drought in half a century has waned, nearly all were compensated.

How many diseases are so devastating that entire regions are named for them? And what if, as early as 2015, we could stop one such disease in its tracks—in the very countries hit hardest? That’s the promise of a new, … Continue reading Eliminating the “Meningitis Belt” →

The TEDx talks recently came to Nairobi, and with each speaker the old views of what this city is all about faded further and further away. There were talks about everything from plastic bag recycling, to encouraging more youth in agriculture, to solar powered stoves, to rebranding what is “modern and cool” in Nairobi society in order to save the environment.

BurnessDigital is new, but we’ve been crafting online strategy for several years: we have told the stories of exceptional nonprofits in videos, brought attention to their ideas with social media campaigns and dynamic websites, and worked to “move the needle” by crafting online strategies that advance their communications goals. This launch is the next step in the evolution of our communications approach.

In this first-ever issue of a major public health journal devoted to Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander populations, an array of new research highlights alarming disparities.

"It’s just one sign of many that U.S. government attitudes towards global health are changing. Like many at the second Partnering for Global Health Forum, I’m looking forward to seeing what’s next."

In Kenya, a New Media Generation

While many in Kenya still lack access to electricity, a vibrant blogging and social networking scene is emerging from Nairobi.